(Damascus) The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, warned on Saturday that any military action by Turkey in Syria would destabilize the region, at a time when Ankara threatens to launch an offensive there.
Posted at 2:55 p.m.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened several times since the end of May to carry out a new military operation against two localities in northern Syria, targeting Kurdish fighters whom he describes as “terrorists”.
The Syrian government is opposed to such an offensive in this part of Syria which it lost control of during the war started in 2011.
“Any Turkish military action in northern Syria would be a destabilizing element in the region,” Amir-Abdollahian told a press conference in Damascus, whose Persian remarks were simultaneously translated into Arabic.
The Iranian Foreign Minister was received in Damascus by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Mr. Assad, quoted in a press release, deemed “null” the “Turkish allegations to justify its offensive in Syrian territory”. According to him, they “violate the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law”.
“This regime attacks Syrian territory as soon as the Syrian army advances against terrorist organizations,” the statement added.
In the morning, Amir-Abdollahian, quoted by the official Irna agency, indicated that his trip to Syria “was notably intended to establish peace and security in the region between Syria and Turkey”.
The head of Iranian diplomacy paid a visit to Ankara on Monday where he said he “understood” the need for a new Turkish military operation against Kurdish fighters in Syria.
Both Tehran and Ankara are hostile to Kurdish separatists who carry out operations in both Turkey and Iran. But the Islamic Republic is also a powerful ally of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and defends the integrity of Syria, part of which is under the control of Kurdish armed groups.
The two localities against which Turkey wants to launch its operation, Tal Rifaat and Manbij, are part of a 30 km “security zone” that Ankara wishes to set up along the Turkish-Syrian border.
The United States has multiplied warnings against a Turkish offensive which, in their view, risks destabilizing the region and jeopardizing the fight against jihadists.